There are several vintage-themed events across the country. imo, they are sparsely attended. I have been to a few and the people are generally all the same, idiots who like old bikes. So feel free to go to any of the events, there is plenty of room, and you won't be "lonely". Simple as that.

Also, imo, the us versus them, vintage versus modern, is asinine.

No, you? Can you find your own grammatical error? I can. You can't bring this post down. If friendly, internet discussion makes you uncomfortable there is no reason for you to participate.

Look, the last thing I want to do is cause any disruption to this forum, or to members who have more time invested in it. If I have misled anyone, or struck a taboo by starting this thread, then I apologize. I was just trying to reach out. Thank you to all who have responded in such positive ways. Stay safe out there. Goodbye.

BFisher, you are seriously missing iab's point, and possibly demonstrating why he is right.

To name just one thing: you are quite close to Trexlertown, home the biggest vintage bike swap meet on the E coast, possibly in the country. Lots of regulars on this forum meet up there.

I was going to suggest this as well, swap meets are where I have made friends with three other c&v garage mechanics and The Groody Bros who do painting of a lot of vintage frames. Most of that friendship was kindled by just being friendly and helpful at swap meets. And being the guy who brought tools to borrow.

Look, the last thing I want to do is cause any disruption to this forum, or to members who have more time invested in it. If I have misled anyone, or struck a taboo by starting this thread, then I apologize. I was just trying to reach out. Thank you to all who have responded in such positive ways. Stay safe out there. Goodbye.

No need for goodbyes mate, I took something some one said on here the wrong way and ended up pretty embarrassed, everything is fine . . no problem with the thread as a lot of people chiming in have had some pretty supportive things to say, forumland can get a bit prickly.

When is the next swap meet guys? Anyone visiting close to @BFisher in the next little while?

Reaching out as you did is the perfect way to make contact with like minded sorts, it will take time, if you are frustrated (and I do mean if) you should buy a really rusty bike and put the frustrations into stripping it bare! It is a great fight sometimes, getting seat posts and BB's out is good clean(well dirty) fun

If I were you I would look on the net list all the bike shops, coop's bike groups in your area and start making some calls seeing if there might be a way to connect with some people, I am only 38 I had a customer in the shop a while ago, we got to talking about C&V and he told me about the group he rode with they were all in their 50's-60's the group is called Over the hill cycling group, their moto is "We are over the hill, and looking for the next"!
He asked me to ride with them, I thought the age gap may be a problem, but I had a blast! They made me feel right at home saying stuff like "Pffft young people these days" and "C'mon you young whipper snapper"! and laughing at me a lot, I really enjoying the humor and the rides, I do not go all the time but when I feel like it I join them. A most perfect solution, some of the guys come around to get help with their bikes, or to source parts etc, so I keep in touch with them.

I was going to suggest this as well, swap meets are where I have made friends with three other c&v garage mechanics and The Groody Bros who do painting of a lot of vintage frames. Most of that friendship was kindled by just being friendly and helpful at swap meets. And being the guy who brought tools to borrow.

Looks like you're in my neck of the woods. I just picked up my first classic bike a couple weeks ago and also just came across the Groody Bros website. I haven't found out much about swap meets locally yet, any hot tips?

Also this might be idiotic: I need to tear my bike down and go through it but I don't want to because it's too fun to ride and I'm sure it will take me a few days.

Also this might be idiotic: I need to tear my bike down and go through it but I don't want to because it's too fun to ride and I'm sure it will take me a few days.

Riding older equipment that hasn't been serviced properly is a good way to turn Classic kit to useless worn out junk, that would be idiotic.
Try a different kind of fun and do a complete overhaul on your new-to-you bike.

After refreshing the grease on all bearing surfaces, replacing all control cable/brake pads/bar-tape/hoods/tires/chain/cogs as necessary and truing the wheels to spec you will have a more intimate experience of ownership and enjoy a faultless machine. Not idiotic but a good use of a bit of time and $.

I love C&V! I am obsessed with classic bicycles. The better ones were just so well made, and modern mass produced steel bikes are pathetic in comparison. As a child I dreamed of having a wonderful road bike, but by the time I was in my teens/early 20's they were out of style, it was all mountain bikes. At the time I didn't even consider classic/vintage, I just bought new silly mountain bikes, assumed the beautiful fine bicycles had been swallowed in a giant pit and it was mtb or nothing. I really cried when I had to replace my nice steel mtb bike and discovered everything was ALUMINIUM! The horror. Mtb bikes were so inappropriate for road riding and I feel sad that I did not have a beautiful columbus SL or reynolds 531 magical steed when I was young and had much more energy! I grew up in a city that is to this day horribly hostile towards cycling so it was a solitary thing. If I still lived in Vancouver which is a very cycling friendly place, there might be some friends into riding and all of that. In my vancouver days, my friends and I rode all over and I had a few vintage bicycles because they were cheap and nobody would steal them. I live in downhill country so it's all ridiculous downhill bikes with suspension, and lazy boys driving their bikes in giant V8 trucks up the mountains. Forget taking any of my bikes to the local bike shops! There are a few people in the area with vintage rides and a couple of older fellows who will talk as long as the sunshines about the bikes they have had over the years. Even though this is the pacific northwest and mild most of the year, distances between towns and villages are minor, it should be perfect for bike commuting, but people are scared! Mostly I am seen as a heroic perhaps crazy woman who rides her bike year round. Strangers cheer me on, but very few ever talk to me about my bikes. Unfortunately my bicycle wrenching skills are lacking, and my husband who does have a bike mechanic history has next to no interest in fixing 'my bikes'. Lack of funds mean my bikes always sit half unfinished. I wish I was more in touch with Vancouver related classic bike stuff, like I think there are swaps, rides etc, but not sure.
I sometimes think of having a blog, but it would be sort of lame....no mysterious well of funds to buy stuff all the time and write about them.

As for myself, i run a website that has almost exclusively vintage road stuff. I get emails from all over asking for parts, frames and advice.

I live in Toronto which is a huge cycling city. Our downtown is always buzzing with all types of bikes, with bikes locked up everywhere. With saying that unfortunately bike theft is high here, i always see 5-10 ads a week up on CL or kijiji for bikes that were stolen (Bike thieves should all die miserable deaths then rot in hell).

Our craigslist's and kijiji is fiercely competitive. Any time a good deal is up, if you haven't responded in the first 5-10 minutes it is long gone and you have no chance.

With saying that, i can say this is not a lonely hobby. We have tons of trails all over town and a beautiful waterfront trail. I see tons of vintage roadie's every time i go for a ride along the waterfront. Last time i was out, i saw a colnago master with delta's, a bunch of Miele's, and a marinoni as well.

Did i also mention that the third annual Toronto vintage bike show is coming up soon?!? It is not lonely here.

I re-read the OP's post and see someone with a narrow view of other cyclist. Anyhow, we're just talking bikey's and no need to get heated. I also suggest to pour a good one, chuckle at the sarcasm / humor of a few others here. Surely you don't want to jump all over some of these forum members. I've met a few and all are great company. I should rephrase - super great and helpful when not expected. Its not just about 'your' C&V passion. Isolating 'your' C&V passion is making you the lonely one. Nothing wrong or against being solely into it but one just needs to be more open minded and not give a hoot about what another 'fellow' cyclist thinks.

"New rides don't appeal to me; I love lugged steel". "when I show people my bikes, they clearly don't share the passion".

That's great but you should realize there's still lugged steel bikes being made. I might add, are instant classic's, incredible, beautiful artistic mechanical machines. Custom they may be, they fulfill the enthusiast of 'retro contemporary's. Perhaps they don't want or have the time to fuss with older stuff, source old parts to keep it up and running, etc.. Just because some may not fall all over and vocalize - share the passion about your vintage classic, doesn't mean they don't appreciate it.Personally, I gravitate towards C&V but don't always want to be riding or working them. I enjoy a wide range of bikes, early skip tooth to modern F1 tech dribbling two-wheelers, folder's, 3 speed old dude cruiser's, tandem, ATB, all type of frame construction and material. (It's been a few years since I had a CF framed bike but I secretly want one again.) I'll even bop around with the kids and we're all riding bottom line bike's or beaters. I can have just as much fun riding with the kids and in a strange way, reverses the clock; makes me feel like one of them again and I don't care what others think. When out on a bike path riding a junker, I'll see others with some high zoot machines and still give a wave or if stopped, strike up a conversation. I enjoy seeing what they ride and what works for them.... meaning, I share their interest.

"My area is not very cycle friendly"

Not sure in what you're conveying but suggest sometimes you just have to accept it. As for riding C&V, of course there are those who might look at it as just some old bike. I don't care what they think and that's just fine with me. When on group rides and everyone else is on something modern I get more of a kick being the one riding the 'old bike'. If you haven't done so (ride vintage with a group on modern) nothing is more comical when they feel sorry for you...lol. But if you really want to socialize and share your C&V passion, make the time and travel to the many posted events. Cheer's -

I find this whole damn thread downright nasty. 4 pages of kvetching that C&V is the loneliest number. Then I get attacked for pointing out the reality, there are several C&V events across the country. And I also correctly pointed out, they are generally sparsely attended. Why do you ask? (more condescension for those keeping score) Because all the “lonely” people are lonely by choice (which is fine by me) or they are too damn lazy to support something they “love”. It is just like expecting a manufacturer to make old stuff forever for a very few people and survive as a business, it is not reality. So when events like Velo-Rendezvous and Cirque disappear, there is no one else to blame except for the “lonely” people who don’t show up to support the event.

Too far for C&V events or not to your taste? Then start your own. 8 years ago I started here and wrote, meet me at the park and let’s ride. As simple as that. I think I had 4 takers the first year. Last year there were 20. Still small numbers but cheap, easy and a nice ride with great people and bikes and fantastic fish tacos at the end. It will cost you $8 in tacos to cure you of your C&V “loneliness”.

And God forbid you actually go on a ride with the “plastic & spandex” crowd. Because in reality 99% of them who are interested in bikes themselves love to see your vintage bike and will talk it up, boosting the obvious fragile egos displayed here. For the 1% who make a snide comment, no worries, you can come here and add yet another thread to the countless here claiming that everything new sucks. We certainly don’t have enough of those.

So rootboy, the “nastiest” thing you found in this thread was that when some anonymous newb on the internet completely misinterpreted what I wrote I didn't treat him/her with kid gloves? How telling. (that’s judgmental, not condescending nor nasty, for those keeping score)

Toronto is wonderful for cycling! Man oh man, so much fun, all the beautiful men and women out on bikes. Having spent many years exiled in a bicycle void prairie city, I was enthralled by Toronto and Vancouver, totally felt at home biking around.

As for this poster, how is it that the naked lady keeping the bike upright in the air?

Yes, there are modern steel lugged bicycles, but they cost a fortune custom or otherwise. Then you get into the weird oversized tubing. And of course, many a day I wish I could just have a bike where everything is modern and works! But I've had enough bikes over the years to know better. It might work fine at first, but ride it for a season or two, parts start to corrode, drive trains have to be replaced etc. Some of those old campy and other components are bomb proof and have real stainless steel bits. Nothing wrong with modern bikes, but the entry level bikes most people buy are crappy. It is a big industry and the factories churn out all these low end bicycles that cannot shine a light on most vintage bikes. One can get a really fine machine for about the same price as a BSO. I have also spent $$$ on a modern steel bike and it was a terribly upsetting experience for me. Now I have a 93 custom road machine that is fast, nimble and light. I also have a bianchi and a few other machines waiting for finishing and I always have a soft spot for my raleighs.

For reasons known to all who have the C&V bug, I love working on and riding these bikes. New rides don't appeal to me; I love lugged steel. As much fun as I have with this, I don't know anyone else that's into it. My rides are always solo and when I show people my bikes, they clearly don't share the passion. My area is not very cycle friendly, NE Pennsylvania. How have others been able to connect with fellow C&V enthusiasts? Does anyone else find it to be a lonely hobby?

Java Man, Hermosa Beach, CA. Coffee on the patio. Two men sitting on a bench nearby, smiling, alternately pointing at the Super Course I'd parked against the tree by them. They eventually got up to leave. I smiled at them: "Do you like it?" "Sure do!", they both replied. I'm not sure if they knew the difference between C&V and modern carbon or not. But they were clearly impressed with this one. So I think there is at least some interest in these great old bikes. I myself enjoy the hobby, perhaps even more than I enjoyed motorcycles. Best. DB

Yeah but I don't mind the isolation in fact it's one if the reasons I like cycling. I own an old 531cs quinn in Liverpool, and often I get older guys striking up conversations with me because of it, and they nearly always want to buy my bike too! Younger riders know next to nothing about them..Some don't realise just how fast these old bikes can shift

Looks like you're in my neck of the woods. I just picked up my first classic bike a couple weeks ago and also just came across the Groody Bros website. I haven't found out much about swap meets locally yet, any hot tips?

Also this might be idiotic: I need to tear my bike down and go through it but I don't want to because it's too fun to ride and I'm sure it will take me a few days.

Three in KC are decent. Two Bike America ones are free (one in Spring and one in Fall), El Torreon has traditionally been the best in KC, but I was out of town for it this year and I know they struggled with their old location. Peddler's and City of Blue Springs have had some in the past.

I know there is one in Lawrence associated with Octagenta or whatever that is called that is supposed to be pretty good at times.

Most of these are posted up on Facebook from time to time and Groody Bros facebook page usually lets people know about local swaps.

Also as long as nothing major is wrong with the bike save the repair time for the winters.

Originally Posted by Velocivixen
@SJX426- I like being in my garage, alone, thinking, talking to myself figuring things out. It's mechanical as well as artistic to me. I'm all about aesthetics AND function, and sometimes that combination requires creativity and thought. It's my "quiet time" tinkering around.

Originally Posted by Velocivixen
@SJX426- I like being in my garage, alone, thinking, talking to myself figuring things out. It's mechanical as well as artistic to me. I'm all about aesthetics AND function, and sometimes that combination requires creativity and thought. It's my "quiet time" tinkering around.